Re: -----GARMENT-MAKING STRATEGIES-----

I'm sure your efforts will enable other diy'ers to get round those corners easily and efficiently. Curved seams, it seems *groans*, are the most common sticking point *and again,lol* for all those new to the garment making game. It was one of those "Eureka" moments for me when things finally fell into place.

You'll come to a point in time when you become accustomed to the amount of stretch that you need you put into both edges in order to make a nice , even, ripple free curve and then it will be second nature to you.

I've pondered constantly on finding a way to put into words a technique that is based purely on feel ............ but I cant.

Even a visual reperesentation ie, video would still not convey the slight stretch ing of the latex needed when making curves by hand.

Have been trying to think of what to make next and working on testing different methods for getting a pattern. Decided to experiment with a collar and see where it led.

Started with a strip of paper about 3inchs deep. I cut the lower half into strips. Wraped it around neck and the cuts allowed the paper to split to follow curves of neck. I used masking tape between the stips of paper and when i removed the collor it retained it's shape. I then cut it into sections which formed the bases for pattern. Worked really well as a simple way to create pattern for neck and shoulders.

Then made a mock up in sliver 4D latex. Having cut out pieces, I decided to try sewing them together to see the effect. The first mockup is shown bellow along with the first try on.

The sewing worked well i liked the effect, but was worried about strength, sewing latex not known for it's strength. Also how to fix at back. Decided i would stick a strip to the back to take the strain, leaving sewing as pure decoration. Would also allow me to add re-enforcement at the back for eyelets. Used copydex to coat a material strip, which i glued between the latex strips. The final result is shown bellow. I am pleased with it, follows curve of neck nicely and with lacing up back looks great. Will post final pics later.

So where next. I like the design and wonder about expanding to make t-shirt for myself, would look very sci-fi in silver and purple. Then maybe all the way up to cat suit (obviously not all sewn!) The re-enforcement and eye-lets were good practice for a corset as well.

Hi ppl im new to all this ,but learning fast,lol I found straight joints hard at first,and curved almost inpossible without redoing several times,Then brain wave {well the wife did]she picked up an old shopwindow dummy talk about makeing life easy,if i want to increase certain curves i use a can of expanding builders foam that i can shape before it sets rubdown to smoothness then cover in clingfilm if needed.i can double side stickytape all my joints and add to the dummy saves time and frustration,allso put lycra stockings on the model and paint on coat after coat of latex to make smart thick patterned latex stockings ,that make mens eyes bulge out when they see them on the wife and woman ask ,were she bought them,My 5.99 pound dummy was my best investment.love the tips and tricks left by other ppl.Cliffhanger,

Just a quick note to those of you in the know about a way to improve the fit of the arms on my garments.

The pattern has been generated from careful measurements from the shoulder to the wrist to insure that the circumference is correct all along the arm. The fit is what you might call exact and not tight.

The problem I am encountering is one of wrinkles and general buckling in places. I may have the arms a shade too long resulting in the wrist moving up adding to the problem.

My question is this:
What methods have you found that produces a ultra smooth wrinkle free arm without being so tight that you loose the feeling in your hands?

Am I being too precise in making the arms anatomically shaped or would a simple tube give a better result (letting the Latex stretch as required in all the places that require that)?

When you say wrinkles and bulges, do you mean the garment bulges out at the seam when going over larger diameter parts of your arm? If so, I have dealt with the same thing in the calves of leggings and stockings.

I'm sure the pros have better advice, but I have been able to reduce this by 1) making each leg/arm in two pieces instead of one, and 2) flattening the "hills" in my pattern. The former helps to spread out the diameter variation along the limb between two different sides. The latter basically makes the garment fit exact in smaller diameter areas (just below the knee and around the elbow) and tight in larger diameter areas (calves, thighs, biceps, etc). I guess this latter strategy makes the pattern more tubular like you said, but some amount of curvature matching fits much closer than a true tube...the real frustration for me has been figuring out how much curve is too much.

As it happens, I've commissioned a pair of full arm length kid leather gloves from Poland, and they asked for very specific measurements down my arms. I'll let you know how they turn out...

As for wrinkles, even if your sleeve fits tightly when your arm is straight, when you flex your elbow and shoulder, the fabric will be pulled out of alignment. Generally, you plan for some slack around outside of the elbow and shoulder so that the "bands" around the fore arm and upper arm stay in place when your arms move.

For example, place 2 rubber bands around your arm, one just above the elbow, the other one just below.

With your arm straight, measure the distance between the two rubber bands and write it down.

Now flex your arm completely and measure the distance between the rubber bands going around the pointy part of the elbow.

With your arm still flexed, measure the diameter of the elbow going around the crease and the pointy part.

I think you get the idea where I'm headed by now...

Now granted that's an exaggeration: Most sleeves aren't made to allow full flex of the arms or else we'd see large puffy things around all shirt elbows. I think that a 90 degree bend or even a 135 degree bend is fine.

The elbow should be the easiest as it only has one degree of movement.

If you could make two bands around your upper and forearm as tight as possible, then make an "elbow bra" to join them, the "bra" will take up the slack that appears at the elbow when you straighten your arm.

Bad illustration follows:

Note: The "bra" could be cut as one piece with the rest of the arm by adding an angle between the upper arm and forearm "tubes".

The wrist and forearm are another story. The wrist on the glove needs to be wide enough to allow the hand to pass through. On the other hand, it needs to be tight. That's why some evening wear opera gloves have that buttoned slit at the wrist, a.k.a. a mousquetaire. Other gloves have a hidden placket at the wrist that serves the same purpose.

Yet another factor at the wrist is the twisting motion that's made possible by the overlapping radial and ulnar bones in the forearm. That's what's causing the wrinkles in Steffy's photo above. In the photoo, the hand part is positioned at a different angle than it was joined to the rest of the arm therefore twist lines appear.

The easy workaround is be to be conscious of what angle your hands are at when photos are being taken to avoid twist lines.

Another solution would be to change the angle where the glove is joined to the arm to something more natural. My hands are around 45-60 degrees inwards when hanging straight down. For a rubberdoll, this could be a 90 degree straight angle, like when you're doing the "robot" dance.

A third solution would be to have a unattached hand from the rest of the arm with a loose overlap that won't bind on the forearm. The overlap could be stiffened to avoid twist lines.

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